Headlight lens



L. DUFEK HEADLIGHT LENS May 12, 1925.

Filed July 16. 1925 LOUIS DUFF-K, 0T? SEATTLE, WASZEEEIGTQN,

"HEADLIGHT Application filed July 16, 1923. Serial No, 851,698.

To all whom it may concern:

Be 1t known that 1, Louis DUFEK, a citi- 'zen of the CzechoslovakRepgublic, residing 'at Seattle, in v the county of 5 of Washington,

ing and State have invented a new and useful Headlight Lens, of whichthe followin is a specification.

ly invention, relating suitable for use with motor vehicles, has for itsobjects the provision of a lens of the non so constructed as to directadegla-re variety roadway, to subdue and duate light to the diffuseupwardly ascending rays of light, 13 and to present a non-glare face toobservers.

In the accompanying drawing- Figure 1 is a front elevation of the lens.

Fig. 2, a vertical sectional view of the same drawn on the line 2-2,Fig. 1; a diagrammatic view of a headlight being included to illustratethe lens as mounted therein.

Fig. 3, a rear elevation of said lens.

in the drawing, 1 denotes a body of uncolored glass,,preferably slightlythicker at its lower portionfZ, to give .it light retracting properties.3 designates a transversely extending and slightly curved ridge on theupper portion of the face which merges into the rim, and also mergesinto an upstanding ridge 4, on either side. Said ridges 4 are of clearglass, prismatic in form and also connect with and enclose the otherridges disposed on the face, and which will be hereinafter described.lhe rear section of the lens carries a projection 5, the upper portionof which'is adapted to conform to the upper inner periphery of theheadlight, and its lower portion providing, in connection with the ridge3, light deflecting and diffusing surfaces.

In the tion the and the ridge 3 are frosmd, and the upper surface oft-heridge 3 is likewise frosted up to the point where it merges into therim, for the purposes of deflecting downwardly extending rays of lightand diffusing and subdoing Said surfaces may be colored, if desired, byfusing color into the glass, by paintin or in any other" suitablemanner, and still be within the spirit of my invention. When a color isthus used I prefer reen, as it is a color restful to the eyes andindicative of a front light.

6 and 7 denote a pair of downwardly ere )referred embodiment of theinvenas it does to improvements in headlight lenses particularly.

' rays outwardly of acent ridges in producing-a suoower surfaces oftheprojection 5' part tending ridges on the face, which, to affordsymmetrical proportions, are slightly and reversely curved. lhe inwardlyextending ridges'S and the'bo'dy comprise, in conjunction with theadjacent and respective ridges 6 and downwardly inclined lightdeflecting surfaces, the upper portions of both the inner and outerridges being frosted. 4

D sposed between said ridgesthe face of the lens carries another pair ofdownwardly extending ridges 10 and 11, slightly and reversely curved,and in connection therewith on the inner portion a pair of inclinedridges l2 and 13, which also define inconjunction with the ridges 10 and11, downwardly inclincd light deflecting surfaces, the upper portions ofwhich are frosted.

The medial portion of the "face carries a pair of horizontal 9projecting from therear' of;

ribs 14% of clear glass, anddisposed therebetween a plurality of ver- 7'tically extending tine ribs 15, also of clear glass. Said first-namedribs are for the purpose of retracting light rays downward- 1y at thesepoints, and the 1ast-named ribs sulose ve the purpose of retractinglight rays laterally, To facilitate these objects the ridges 10 and ll,and their respective inner adjacent ridges 1Q, shorter in width than theother transverse ridges with. which the lens is provided,

The lower projections 16 and 17 on the face and rear of the lens aredesigned to he frosted or colored on their as hereto-fore described withreference to the upper ridges 3 and 5, and the point where it mergesinto the rim, thus atdording surfaces adapted to deflect-light the lensand cooperating with the adj dued diffusion of light the lower the lens,g

p in aid symmetry, transverse ridges heretofore width tower uppersurfaces, s

and. 13 are preferably 15 the lower curved surface the projection 16 tobe rrosted to" on the face heing enclosed at their ends by rays of lightextending upwardlyfithe upstanding curved ridges l; lhe ridges effectivefor the purposes for which they are intended, as for instance,ridges'extending even width, or retheir end portions.

if deemed desiraele horizontally and of an duced in width adjgacent lcontemplate also, that or expedient, the application of color may bemade toridges of the lens other than those I have specificallyenumerated, and in a similar manner.

As indicated in Fig. 3, the rear of the lens is'pro 'ided with aplurality of vertically extending ribs of clear glass disposed betweenthe transverse ridges, one series of which designated 18 is angularlydisposed toward a side of the lens, and the other series 19 is likewisedisposed toward the opposite side, and a vertically extending rib 20interposed between said series" and at the quired if equal projectingsurfaces were confined to the face, making a lens which is more pleasingJ11 appearance, and reducing the hazard of breakage. The ridges,inclined as they are, cooperating with the clear glass of the bodybetween them, serve to deflect light rays to the roadway, and beingprovided with frosted or colored surfaces, or both, as heretoforedescribed, they subdue the upwardly extending rays of light, and pre-vsent a face to the observer in which the glare, commonly incident to theaverage headlight is eliminated.

The central section of the face, while of clear glass, is provided withribs extending vertically which also tend to subdue the glare, and aremade more effective in this respect by the frosted transverse ridgesirnmediately above and below them. They also,

coacting with the vertically extending ribs on the back of the body,serve to direct rays of light laterally, thereby difiusing the lightover a larger area, and making less intense the rays which emanatedirectly in front of the lens.

I claim:

' 1. A headlight lens, comprising a body having a transversely anddownwardly extending ridge on its upper face portion and an inwardlyextending ridge on its back portion complementary to the first ridge,said ridges defining downwardly extending light de- 'fiecting surfaces,the upper surface of the first ridge to where it merges into the rim andthe'lower surface of the second ridge being of a color adapted to dimand diffuse upwardly extending rays of light, a plurality oftransversely extending spaced ridges on the face located below the firstridge,

complementary inwardly extending ridges on the back of the body todefine, in connection with said plurality of ridges, down- .wardlyextending light deflecting surfaces,

body and angularly disposed toward a side of the body, and a secondseries of vertically extending light refracting ribs located between theridges on the back of the body and angularly disposed toward theotherside of the body.

2. In a headlight lens having a plurality of light deflecting ridges inspaced parallel relation on its inner surface, a series of ver-- ticallyextending light refracting ribs located between the ridges and angularlydisposed toward a side of the body, and a second series ofvertically-extending light refracting ribs located between the ridgesand angular-1y disposed toward the other side of the LOUIS DUFEK.

